Archive

RTthoughthe might never get to this moment, but at last he can say: Gilgamesh is done. All the 11 tablets and the envoi—all 3,900 lines—are complete, though some polishing remains. RT has begun assembling a master electronic file.

It is an amazing moment. When he wrote out the first stanza in October 2000, that’s right, more than 17 years ago, our author had no idea what he was getting into, or how much of himself he would invest in the enterprise. But then, Gilgamesh is one of the great portraits of the human condition—of our struggle, in the midst of a vast and inscrutable universe, for beauty and meaning. As the Ferryman tells Gilgamesh near the end of the epic:

Urshanabi addressed the king’s bitter remorse:

“Do not despair! For wisdom, the lion’s roar,

your heart’s divided genius, you have toiled.

The mouth of death is shut; it speaks no stay,

but out of the Deep Waters you bring your name,

a sign and wonder to all flesh bound by time.”

*

Much remains to be done, of course: start looking for the book on Lulu and Amazon in the summer, and RT is planning a 100-copy private printing, when he finds the money.

*
In the meantime, RT’s life has grown yet more complicated, but more of that in the next post. And if the author has one regret, it is that his mother is not here to share in the achievement with him. But then, there must be a reason…and certainly this is the happiest news for RT at year’s end.